–call for legislation governing the sport

By Lisa Hamilton

LOCAL businessman, Mr Lancelot Khan, is calling for the enactment of legislation governing the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as ‘drones’.
The proprietor of a local security firm, Khan, who is also President of the Guyana Drone Operators Association (GDOA), made the call on Thursday during a workshop at the Duke Lodge aimed at bringing together key stakeholders to address safety concerns.
As he told participants, while the organisation is supportive of the use of ‘drones’, there are, however, several implications and concerns that need to be addressed, and urgently.
One of those concerns is that drones can be negatively used to commit such illicit acts as drug distribution over prison walls, interrupting airline flight paths, hindering emergency services from performing their duties, and creating privacy breaches, or even as inexpensive weapons.

He said that it is with the foregoing implications in mind that the GDOA has sought the assistance of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) as well as the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) with improving regulations regarding the importation of drones, the granting of flight permission to their operators, and the overall drone operations.
“We’ve been mainly collaborating and speaking with the Civil Aviation Authority,” Khan said, adding:

“They’ve been very cooperative and helpful; we’ve had many of our questions answered.”
Yet, in spite of all the advances they have made so far, Khan said there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out.
And one of the challenges of which he speaks has to do with the need to persistently upgrade the necessary regulations governing the use of drones as fast as the technology advances.

Said he: “The regulations are developing all over the world. Even in the Caribbean, there are some nations that have outright put a temporary ban on the usage of drones, just because the technology keeps changing. “The applications keep changing, and the regulatory agencies just can’t keep up with the change of technology of those applications.”

HELP IS ON THE WAY
But, he needn’t worry, as according to Director of Aviation Safety Regulations, Mr Christopher Kirkcaldy, help is on the way.
“Going forward from today, in the very near future, we will be putting into effect policies and regulations which will be approved for the use by all drone operators,” he said.
“We will certainly attempt to have workshops with those drone operators; workshops that are necessary to ensure the safe use of the drones within the airspace,” he told the Guyana Chronicle at the end of the workshop.

Unbeknownst to many, drones can be used for numerous purposes apart from aerial photography.
Infrastructural inspection, construction, security, surveying, mapping, mining and aggregates, as well as search-and-rescue, are just some of the additional uses of the remotely controlled aerial devices.

As a safety precaution, the GDOA would like to encourage and remind UAV operators to:
“Always keep the drone in sight; stay below 150m (492ft) away from all aircraft; stay 50cm (150ft) away from people and property; and never fly at nights, or in low-visibility conditions.”

The organisation wants to assist UAV operators in becoming skilled, trained and certified operators, and as such, measures have been taken to encourage individuals to register the necessary information about their drones, obtain written permission from the GCAA, and adhere to the GCAA’s directive.

Said Kirkcaldy, “Any new drone operators that register or apply to us, we will look on them on a case-by-case basis to ensure that we’re satisfied that they are able to safely operate within the airspace, and to follow the instructions that are given to them.”
He said that quite a number of registrations have been received thus far, and would like to encourage other operators to register their drones, so that they can receive the necessary authority to use them in the public domain.

As Khan observed: “We’re fortunate that the authorities want to engage us, and want us to be part of forming the regulations and the rules that will apply.
“So, rather than sitting back and waiting… now is the time to step forward.”